


Insult

by vaiya



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 08:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2500712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaiya/pseuds/vaiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Julian accidentally says something terrible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Insult

**Author's Note:**

> Just an idea I had not too long ago. Quick little story.

Julian laughed. It had been a fantastic story, whether it was true or not. “You sneaky bastard.”

He’d expected perhaps an answering laugh, or perhaps a flirting tease, maybe another lie to make the story sweeter. What he received, however, was as far from his expectations as it could possibly be.

The Cardassian sitting opposite him visibly stiffened, the smile and amused glance evaporated as though it had never been. The ice blue eyes regarded him intensely for a long moment.

“Garak?” Had he said something wrong? Done something? Did the tailor spot something behind him? Was he ill? Julian felt a slight panic rise up, but he forced it down until he could determine the cause.

The Cardassian’s eyes turned hard. “My dear Doctor,” he began quietly, voice harsh and unfeeling. “I have never known you to be cruel.”

Julian’s mind blanked as he tried to process the words. “W-what?”

The eyes narrowed, boring deep into the doctor. He had no doubts, now, that such eyes could make a man say anything, do anything. This was not the tailor who sat with him now, but the Obsidian Order operative; the interrogator; the spy. Julian squirmed, but didn’t look away. If he did, it would only feed the man’s suspicions, whatever they were. There had to be a reason for this change.

Finally, after long, agonizing moments, Garak blinked slowly, and seemed to relax only a little. “I shall assume, then, that there was a mistake in the translation?” The voice was still cold, but there was a hopeful edge to it. “The word you used, perhaps means something different than what I heard?”

Julian replayed what he’d said, making certain he’d had it right. “Sneaky or bastard?”

The tailor winced, almost imperceptibly, his eyes becoming hard again. “There is no doubt I am the former, Doctor, but the latter…” He sat up a little straighter, placing his clasped hands on the table between them. “What does it mean in your language?”

The doctor pulled up the definition in his mind, replying carefully, “Well, it has a few meanings. The meaning I meant it as was rogue or scoundrel, but a more ancient meaning is someone who was born of parents not married to each other; an illegitimate child.” He put on his most concerned look, hoping to shed light on this strange reaction in his friend. “Why?”

An eye-ridge raised, giving the Cardassian a mildly surprised look. “My dear doctor, you could not have made up a more insulting word.” But the man relaxed a little, looking more weary than angry now. He leaned back in his chair. Seeing that the human was still confused, he continued. “You recall that on Cardassia, family is everything.” It was not a question, but a statement, but Julian nodded anyway, starting to see the connection. “To imply that someone is an illegitimate child is one of the cruelest insults you could say to one of us.”

“I’m sorry.” Julian said with all sincerity, “I meant it in all fondness. As a tease. I would not have said it had I known.”

The blue eyes regarded the human for a few long moments before Garak nodded. “I believe you.” He let out a breath, looking away.

The doctor frowned. Obviously something was still bothering the man, and it wasn’t in Julian’s nature to let something like that slide. He had to make certain that he was all right. “Hey,” He placed a hand on Garak’s, causing the Cardassian’s attention to snap back to his friend, first to the hands, then to his face. A warning shone in his eyes, but Julian smiled warmly. “I didn’t mean to insult you. You are one of my best friends.”

Garak’s eyes drifted back to their hands. The tension slowly faded, and his shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Doctor.” He said, almost too quietly to hear. “The barb may not have stung so, were it not also true.”

Julian’s eyes widened. Of course. How could he have been so foolish?

The grey hand turned so that their palms were touching, and the fingers interlocked. “Have you had a chance to read the short stories by Kerlin that I lent you?”

The gears shifted, and they returned to the status quo, all evidence that they’d had a terrible misunderstanding suddenly erased.

Except for the clasped hands on the table between them.


End file.
